Updates, advisories and surprises

(4:31 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Bed Bath & Beyond Inc.
BBBY, +0.04%
reported late Wednesday its fiscal third-quarter profit rose to $237.2 million, or $1.12 a share, from $232.8 million, or $1.03 a share, a year ago. Revenue for the three months ended Nov. 30 rose 6% to $2.87 billion from $2.7 billion. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had predicted the home-furnishings retailer would earn $1.15 a share on $2.88 billion in revenue. Comparable-store sales rose 1.3% in the compared with a 1.7% gain a year earlier. The company trimmed its full-year earnings outlook to $4.79 to $4.86 a share from $4.88 to $5.01 a share previously. Bed Bath & Beyond shares fell as much as 9% on the report in after-hours trade.

Monsanto reaffirms 2014 earnings guidance

(8:09 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Monsanto Co.
MON, -0.11%
said Wednesday its fiscal first-quarter profit rose to $368 million, or 69 cents a share, from $339 million, or 63 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Net sales rose to $3.14 billion from $2.94 billion a year earlier. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected earnings of 64 cents on sales of $3.07 billion. The company said it continues to expect full-year 2014 per-share earnings between $5.02 to $5.22 on an as-reported basis. Shares were inactive in premarket trade.

Constellation raises outlook on strong beer sales

(7:52 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - Constellation Brands Inc.
STZ, -0.96%
reported its third-quarter profit rose 93% to $211 million, or $1.07 a share. Adjusted earnings per share rose 75% to $1.10 per share. Revenue rose 88% from the same quarter a year ago to $1.44 billion, the beverage company said Wednesday. Analysts had expected earnings of 91 cents per share on revenue of $1.39 billion, according to FactSet. The firm also raised its full-year 2014 profit outlook to a per-share range of $9.65 to $9.75, due to stronger performance in its beer business. Shares in Constellation were up 6% premarket.

Europe stocks steady ahead of data; Akzo Nobel off

(3:17 AM ET) MADRID (MarketWatch) -- European stocks took a breather on Wednesday from the previous day's sharp gains as investors awaited a batch of data from both the euro zone and the U.S. The Stoxx Europe 600 index(XX:SXXP)was flat at 329.43 after hitting its highest closing level since May 2008 after upbeat German unemployment data and falling European borrowing costs, reflected in bond prices. Among stocks, shares of Akzo Nobel NV(NL:AKZA)fell 2% after a trading update, while Scor SE(FR:SCR)fell nearly 4% after a broker downgrade. Shares of Air France-KLM SA(FR:AF)rose 3.6% on December traffic numbers. The German DAX 30 index(DX:DAX)was flat at 9,503.63, the French CAC 40 index(FR:PX1)was flat at 4,260.44 and the FTSE 100 index(UK:UKX)eased 0.2% to 6,742.14. Away from the main indexes, shares of Mothercare PLC(UK:MTC)tumbled 28% on a profit warning.

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